Stay the Night
by competitive potato
Summary: A perfect love story, even if it comes from a dark and chaotic place, still has value to it. So tonight, will you stay? Can you stay for me? ...As long you let me stay with you, I'll find everything else enough. / translation from akimoto666's story "Stay the Night".
1. Chapter 1

"You said Anna, right?"

Inside a cheap hotel, a man sat on the edge of a bed. He replied, "Yes."

In her "industry," Anna was the only person who actually used her own true name. She wasn't the brightest in the bunch, and couldn't be bothered to think of a nickname. She thought it was a hassle. And really, she simply didn't care. She just believed that she didn't need to have a useless nickname for herself. She wasn't ashamed of her job; anything that helped to sustain herself was a good one, in her opinion.

"So," said the man, "how much do you charge for your services per night?"

This was the twentieth guest asking the same exact question that night, and Anna's patience had long since worn thin.

"As long as you're happy, the flat rate will do," she responded.

_Men are idiots,_ she thought irately. _They're buying prostitutes, but they still don't want to pay too much for them. It's like they're in a vegetable market and comparing the prices between two heads of broccoli._

The tall man crossed over to Anna. He gripped his money, his payment, his whole body shivering with excitement.

"Pleased to meet you."

Anna took the fat wad of bills and flicked through them, counting.

"You know that I don't do...'in depth' transactions."

The man nodded rapidly, his fingers fumbling eagerly on his pants zipper as he yanked it down. "I know, I know! It doesn't matter."

Anna only laughed quietly to herself. The man had paid quite a lot of money. Anna didn't have any problem, as long as they kept paying her. After all, didn't all men act this way? Anna was very understanding.

She'd been mingling in this circle for quite some time now; if she did the math right, it had been around five years. Thinking back on it, the first time she'd went into this "industry" was when she was eighteen. Anna had been like many aspiring young people, just scrambling to find a good job. She wasn't the hardest worker, though, so she hadn't completed her studies at school. However, she still wanted to help her family's economic situation back at home, and so, she believed that acquiring a decently-paying job was the first and most important thing she had to do.

Unfortunately, the gods weren't fair. After Anna had bombed her seventh job interview, she happened to chance upon a meeting with one of her high school classmates. In hindsight, whenever Anna thought about it, she _really_ wished she'd never bumped into said classmate. One moment later and she had fallen head-long into the "industry," which held a poisonous appeal: she had the potential to earn a _lot_ of money in just one night. Eighteen-year-old Anna never thought in her wildest dreams that she could make that much cash. And so, she'd hooked up with her first client.

He had been a married man. Maybe he knew that Anna was the same age as his eldest daughter, and maybe he didn't, but he hadn't acted rudely or roughly toward her in any case. He didn't force himself onto her either, and only put her head in between his legs.

_Press once, twice, thrice._

By the time she'd pressed for the twentieth time, her mouth was full of his essence, the only thing the man was screaming was his daughter's name.

It was disgusting.

The man had paid her fifteen hundred dollars.

Anna cried when she saw the money. It had been a mixture of both bitter and happy tears, and she'd always remember this. From that point onward, Anna had started to learn a few tricks of the trade. She learned how to keep a man's focus on himself; she'd get paid, regardless.

By keeping this a secret, she'd get ten clients; twenty clients or more — Anna would lose count after that. She'd always end up making a lot of money, of which she split half for her family and half for herself. With the money, she bought a car and a suite, and still had left enough to lead a comfortable lifestyle. She'd even have a reserve if the economy decided to take a downward plunge for the worse; at least, she wouldn't have to worry about food or clothing or any of the bare necessities. She thought this quite enough.

Today, the clients seemed very inexperienced — virgins, most likely. Kneeling on the ground, Anna brought them to a quick finish. Then, she repeated the steps that had become so familiar.

Spent, the man collapsed on the mattress. He was clearly exhausted.

After she made herself look presentable, Anna took her due payment, lifted her bags, and left the hotel. The fresh air outside was a relief, and she allowed herself to laugh.

"Today really was a pretty easy day..."


	2. Chapter 2

Anna woke up early, which for her, was pretty abnormal. The alarm on her phone hadn't even rung yet: she'd woken of her own volition. She stretched while yawning.

The glare of the sun from outside the window was particularly strong that morning. The weather seemed to be good, with clear skies and bright sun. Anna decided that she'd go out to eat breakfast today, and after that, take a walk around.

She was pretty happy. She seldom had the opportunity to wake up in her own bed: while the white pillowcases of the hotel beds were nice, she preferred her own, dark blue set of sheets. It wasn't as if she _disliked_ white, but it was just that she saw so much white while out at her job that it grew rather tiring after a while. Besides, her blue pillow made her feel as if she was lying on the sea, and didn't they say that everything came from the sea?

Anna often fantasized herself as a shrimp, just swimming back and forth, back and forth. It was like she had no place to go and was just following the crowd.

She couldn't catch anything, either: she was too small to be of note. (Well, actually, no; it should have been said instead that she just wasn't qualified _to_ catch anything for herself.) And whenever Anna came back from her dreams of the ocean, she wished she wasn't human. People just weren't cut out to be alone.

But Anna stubbornly declared herself to be unmovable. She put on a simple dress, took the key, and locked the door up tight. Her heart prayed silently for the day to be the best; for her not to encounter any bad guests she didn't wish to entertain.

* * *

"Is that you, Anna?"

Anna had hidden herself away in a rather obscure café, which was located in a small alley. She was preparing to bite into bacon and eggs on toast when the familiar face appeared in front of her.

She looked up from her breakfast and saw an old school friend, Jessica.

Jessica, of course, was just a pseudonym; she and Anna were in the same line of work. They weren't the same _kind_ of person, though—Jessica wasn't a virgin.

Anna laughed, embarrassed. Were it not for this woman, perhaps she wouldn't be eating dick every night for the sake of her livelihood.

"How've you been lately?" Jessica sat down in a chair opposite from Anna, not bothering to wait for an invitation.

"I've been doing...okay," Anna said, albeit a little quietly. Jessica, however, didn't fail to miss the uncertainty in her voice.

"Oh? You've been in this industry for so long, and you're still not used to it?" Her tone was teasing, but Anna hated those kinds of questions. She knew the woman in front of her only asked her with the intention of making her angry.

Anna didn't answer, instead bowing her head to take a bite of toast.

Jessica was still, apparently, far too resentful.

"No, I'd really like to know. When we're in this line of work, how do you do it without turning over your body? I think your hymen is being saved for your true love," she said loudly, drawing the lewd gaze of several men nearby.

Anna didn't care. It was true: women would work cheap just for money, whereas men would pay that money to satisfy their own personal needs. When had self-esteem ever been important? The world had always been like this.

Jessica smirked and Anna's eyes followed her as she swayed her hips. It was enough of a farewell, and Anna felt relieved after she left.

Still sitting, Anna watched people from all walks of life travelling to and fro. Their expressions were all indifferent, as were their postures: they were all only thinking of themselves and how the world perceived them.

Selfishness, Anna reflected, was synonymous with modern people.

Black streets and dark buildings—high rise apartments and condos. There were no warm colors in this world. It was like muddy water, and Anna was just a small shrimp in its murky depths. But, she had to survive in such an environment because no matter how it treated her, she still wanted to live.

Anna wasn't fond of living, but she didn't want to _die._

As if she could speak about that stuff, though. She didn't have the courage to go through with that action. She simply had to hope. Perhaps one day, she'd find someone to be with under the blue ocean.

She wouldn't need to drift anymore. She'd no longer be in pain.

She could realise her dream and be a good person.

But...no, she was a bad person. She was just a _bad_ _person._

Remaining seated, she took a bite of her bread.

The hot sun beat down uncomfortably onto her skin; all she had to do was walk a few steps and her T-shirt was already drenched. It didn't help that Anna hated sweating, so she usually hid in air-conditioned stores all year-round.

Buying a can of soda to refresh herself, she sat in one of the chairs the store provided to enjoy the air-conditioning. The icy-cool air soon lulled her into a drowsy state, and Anna let her eyes droop lazily.

And suddenly, she had an idea.

_I really hope I don't have any work today,_ she thought. But really, it was hard to say…after all, in this industry, there wasn't really any freedom to rest.

When Anna opened her eyes, she realised that four hours had already passed. Right before she left the shop, she paused and then bought a red bean loaf on impulse, paying at the front counter. The student who was at the counter had slipped over to another cashier with their phone, though, and they were laughing loudly at something on it. Clearing her throat, Anna waited until one of them finally came to her.

It was no wonder she fell asleep in a corner for four hours. The young people who were working definitely didn't have the attitude for it. Such a casual demeanor.

No wonder people never progressed.

Anna grabbed her bread and walked around aimlessly.

Perhaps at her work, people didn't give their all. Thinking on her own experiences, she could admit that she was a prostitute. But, she never opened her legs for anyone.

Wandering about, she arrived at a park. Crouching to the ground, she began peeling apart her bread, tearing it into chunks to feed the cats. The cats understood, could recognise Anna's voice as she called out to them. Anna didn't avoid the wild cats; even though they were filthy, she'd still hold out a hand to pet them.

"You're so much better than those awful men."

All of a sudden, a dark shadow covered Anna.

"Good evening. Are you gonna be my toy tonight?" a sloppily-dressed, middle-aged man leered.

"You have payment?" Anna said instead, clearly and distinctly.

The man reached into his bag, unhurried, and fished out a large wad of cash, flinging it at her.

"Perform well, and it's all yours."

And how could Anna refuse?

"I thought I didn't have to work tonight."

But for the money, even if she didn't want to, she couldn't just refuse people.

Just like last time, it was an expensive hotel, but Anna was positive that he was a bad client.

He hadn't washed earlier, the stench overpowering as he entered Anna's mouth. He grabbed Anna's head, squeezing it roughly. Just as he was about to finish in Anna's mouth, he began to madly call out for Anna's hand.

"Take it, you whore!" the man cried out. Anna's cheeks blazed as he struck them.

Anna didn't cry.

It wasn't her first time with a bad client. She'd encountered worse. Like last month, a gang of hooligans forgot to clean themselves, still carelessly shooting across Anna's face. And even after it was finished, they weren't willing to pay up, their given reason being that their needs still hadn't been satisfied.

She didn't protest, because she was afraid of being hurt.

Only polite words were acceptable. She had to say 'thank you'. She had to be humble.

Last week, it took a long time to finish; she couldn't stand up to her boss. She tried so hard at her job, her mouth had a constant bad taste to it. But she knew better than to react.

Her boss had made the mistake to push for her body. And even though her refusal lost her money, Anna still refused to cry.

The time after that, opening the door to a black Porsche, was the boss's young son. He'd request her hand and her mouth every time she came around. He had a kink—he liked to see her in stockings or pantyhose. So, he requested that, too.

Because he was the boss's son, Anna had to pretend to enjoy it. She had to throw herself into his advances.

"Taste good?" he asked as he emptied onto Anna's face.

"Delicious," she'd responded. She'd felt so disgusted as she swallowed all of it. He'd left behind a lot of money for her, smiling as he left.

She'd felt so stupid afterward.

The money was fake. Counterfeit.

But just like before, she hadn't cried.

Not matter what, though—no matter the number of bad clients—Anna had never broken down in tears.

She didn't feel. Tears were too precious to spend on this. The waste of those men were too cheap for her to spend her tears on.

But actually, Anna was… grateful for those bad men. They let her see clearly the true nature of people. The corruption of society.

She knew, deeply, from experience. The world was a bad place. Nevertheless, she still liked to believe that she could live her own life, despite being one that was rotten to the core.

Anna knew she mustn't cry. To cry was to lose. She _refused_ to cry.

She was a strong girl.

She wouldn't cry. She promised herself that.

By the time she finished her work, it was already ten o'clock. Anna touched her cheek, rubbing away the ache that had settled there, her stomach a little hungry. She walked to a nearby restaurant—one full of gourmet food, paying with her new money, eating until she was completely full.

She knew she should probably go home, when suddenly, a woman's shriek echoed, filling the streets with its noise, disturbing the nearby crowd.

Anna didn't care.

But, she didn't expect a stranger to appear from the darkness.

In that moment, the sky and the earth turned upside down.

* * *

_Notes: _A note from the original author, **akimoto666**:

_My story, Stay the Night, is about to end. I'm about to publish a book, but I'll need some pictures as well as cover art. If it's not too much trouble, could you possibly ask around Tumblr to see if there are any artists willing to illustrate for my book? Thanks! I'd love to meet friends from some foreign countries as well. All the best!_


End file.
